Word: friedmanism
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This was one of the most disturbing elements of Friedman's assignment, the disillusionment of a Minneapolis Jew who idealized Israel as a "City on the Hill" in the Middle East but found its actions sometimes too similar to those of the other factions in the area...
...Jerusalem, Friedman finds the same governmental paralysis as in Beirut. But this time it is caused by unity, not factionalism...
...failure in leadership handicapped Israel when dealing with its most recent crisis, the Palestinian uprising. Friedman compares the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a fault line that for 20 years was capable of absorbing slight tremors so well that many forgot about its existence. But the earthquake finally struck in the form of the intifada--the Palestinian uprising of anger couched in vows to throw off "Israeldom...
According to Friedman, the Palestinians were never the most brutalized people in the Middle East, but they were easily the most humiliated...
AFTER all the narrative, Friedman finishes with two recommendations. Israel should never forget that its own nationhood, more than the Torah, is the spiritual glue for Jews all over the world. Israel should avoid measures, such as efforts to strictly define who is a Jew, that could isolate Jews abroad. Secondly, Friedman emphasizes that despite the apparent hopelessness of the situation, the United States can help the Middle East escape from its conflicts...